ARNIA (KHURJA): Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the party would oppose any move to provide reservation for Muslims. He also criticised the parties which joined hands to demand that the BJP be derecognised.

"Now everyone wants us to be derecognised. Is it because we speak the truth? The BJP does not compromise on self-respect. All political parties talk of reservation for Muslims; the Constitution does not allow it. Can Dawood Ibrahim's son get reservation?"

Mr. Singh was addressing a rally in support of the party candidates in the Khurja and Jewar Assembly constituencies, which go to the polls on Friday in the second phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections.

The BJP president said this attitude led to the division of the country, with Pakistan preferring to be a Muslim state and India choosing not to be a "Hindu rashtra."

The country assured the Muslims who stayed back that they would get the same status as Hindus.

Vote bank politics

Mr. Singh charged that the parties, which were pursuing vote bank politics, did not want the Muslims to be part of the mainstream and wanted them to be poor and backward. The BJP would continue to oppose this approach.

Attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for stating at a National Development Council meeting that the minorities should have the first claim on resources, Mr.Singh said he would like to ask the Prime Minister who gave him the authority to declare one community first class citizens and another second class.

"The Muslim League mentality led to the division of the country. Everyone has equal rights, and there should be no discrimination," he said. These parties did not want to make the singing of `Vande Mataram' compulsory for the fear of upsetting the Muslim community.

Army withdrawal

Mr. Singh said the Army was being withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir just to save a Government, even as terrorist activities continued to grow.

He also targeted the Samajwadi Party Government of Mulayam Singh, stating that instead of delivering on his promise of making it "Uttam Pradesh" (ideal state), lawlessness had become the byword. The State Government also failed to provide water or power for all.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail